Why is it that when election years come around some people become afflicted with selective amnesia? How do you “forget” the disaster of 12 years of Reagan/Bush trickle-down economics, or who’s policies finally after 8 years gave us a budget surplus? Apparently, the collective memory span is shorter than that, because we went right back to “doubling down on trickle down” and more deregulation for another 8 years, and then have the gall to be shocked when the economy finally collapses.How do you forget what was going on in the months before Obama took office? A burst housing bubble, auto industry near total collapse, and an unregulated Wall Street’s corruption and negligence threatening to bankrupt many major banks without a taxpayer bailout. Both Mitt Romney and Bill Clinton – among others – have said that the damage wasn’t capable of being repaired in less than 4 years – by anybody. The last guy at the restaurant table when your buddies all ran out on the check – that’s Barack Obama.

How do you forget Mitt Romney’s positions during the Republican primaries, and how they have morphed during the general election, moving steadily left to appeal to moderate voters? The term is “bait and switch,” in case you’ve forgotten.People, please – let’s try and remember.

Remember – from 1950 to 1980 the median income grew from $17,700 to $30,900. From 1980 to 2008 it went from $30,900 to $31,300 – while the median income of the top 1% grew 275% over that same period.

Remember what we’ve learned about ALEC – or by all means google “ALEC exposed” – whose membership includes 1 democrat out of 104 legislators, but is a “non-partisan, non-profit, tax-exempt organization,” and whose membership includes Governor Romney, as well as Ryan, Gov. Walker, the Koch brothers, etc. … etc… and who helped fashion things like the Voter I.D., law, the “Citizen’s United” Supreme Court decision, and is the driving force behind most anti-union and anti-worker safety (OSHA) legislation, corporate tax breaks, and privatization (read “for profit”) of government services. Think how well our economy would be zooming along if only we all worked for China’s labor rate. 0.0% unemployment.

Remember what’s important. I hate taxes as much as anybody, but it’s more important to have quality education, clean air and water, and a strong middle class with decent paying jobs, than it is to hamstring ourselves with some ridiculous Grover Norquist tax pledge.

Finally, before you vote, remember how this hole got dug in the first place, and what it’s going to take to dig us and our children back out again. I wonder if Governor Romney wins and the economy improves markedly this summer, as I believe it will, before any changes he could possibly pass could begin to take any effect – who will get the credit for that? If it doesn’t improve – I know who will get the blame…

Assuming we don’t forget. 40 major corporations have cancelled their membership in ALEC.